Garbage grinder with self-cleaning cutter head



H. JORDAN Aug. 28, 1956 GARBAGE GRINDER WITH SELF-CLEANING CUTTER HEAD 2Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed NOV. 1, 1951 JVI/E/VTO/Q: HAM; do/wA/v 6) 19 5 4"ORA E75 H. JORDAN Aug. 28, 1956 GARBAGE GRINDER WITH SELF-CLEANINGCUTTER HEAD 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Nov. 1, 1951 O. a. O

mp WMWW w? NZ: fi f Unite States Patent GARBAGE GRHJDER WITHSELF-CLEANING CUTTER HEAD Hans Jordan, Los Angeles, Calif., assignor, bymesne assignments, to Given Machinery Company, Los Angeles, Calif., acopartnership Application November 1, 1951, Serial No. 254,397

12 ClflllIliS. Cl. 241-455 This invention relates to the Waste disposalart and, more particularly, to a device adapted for the comminution anddisposal of garbage or other Waste materials and which is suitable forhome or restaurant use where only relatively small volumes of suchmaterials are normally passed through the device.

The present invention is a continuation-in-p'art of my copendingapplication Serial No. 190,927, filed October 19, 1950, now abandoned,and is directed to a garbage disposal device of the general characterdisclosed in my United States Patent No. 2,442,812, for Garbage DisposalDevice, dated June 8, 1948. The disposal device shown in the patentincludes an outer housing section adapted for attachment to the underside of a sink, and an inner housing section, these sections defining apassage or throat through which waste material and Water can beintroduced into a comminuting chamber defined by the inner section and arotary table element which closes the lower end of the inner section.The table element is rotated by an electric motor disposed in a motorshell at the lower end of the disposal device and has one or moremovable cutters which cooperate with fixed cutter means on the internalsurface of the inner section to comminute the waste material within thechamber. in the patented device, openings or passages are provided inthe wall of the inner section through which the comminuted material canpass downwardly into a port which is connected to the drain pipe of thesink.

It is common practice in waste disposal devices of this character toprovide considerable clearance between the inner housing section and thecutter table (such a that above mentioned) in order to allow rotation ofthe latter and to provide an annular passage through which thecornminuted waste material can flow downwardly into the drain passage.If this annular passage is made relatively wide, the waste material isquite apt to pass downwardly therethrough before being acted upon by thecomminuting means. On the other hand, if the annular passage is madesumciently narrow to prevent this condition, then some forms of wastematerials, such as fibrous vegetables, strings and the like, are apt tobecome caught in this restricted passage so as to impair the rotation ofthe cutter table or head and to clog the waste'disposal device.

in conventional Waste disposal devices it is the usual practice to formthe fixed cutters as lugs which project inwardly from the wall of theinner housing section, these cutter lugs being ground to provide sharpcorners or edges with which rotary cutters cooperate to effect theshearing action necessary to comminute the waste material. In suchdevices, the cutter lugs are usually arranged in. spaced groups aroundthe interior of the inner housing section. in devices in which the lugsare disposed adjacent the bottom of the comminuting chainher. theproblem of providing the clearance or discharge passage between theinner surface of the inner section and the periphery of the rotarycutter head or table which will allow discharge of the properlyccmtninute'd material and yet prevent the accumulation of unshreddedfibrous material therein is indeed a perplexing one. As will beapparent, if the lower cutting lugs are disposed in the plane of thecutting head so as to effect maximum shredding of the material, and theperiphery of the cutting head is located in proximity to these lowerlugs, then there exist arcuate spaces between the periphery of the headand the wall of the inner housing section at areas between the groups ofcutter lugs. These spaces are sub stantially equal to the thickness ofthe lugs and are in excess of the width necessary for the properdischarge of the comminuted material. Consequently, it is possible forlarger, unshredded pieces of the material to pass into the drain pipe toclog the-same.

it is therefore an important object of my invention to provide a wastedisposal device which includes an inner housing section and a cutterhead or table element rotatable within the section at the lower endthereof, said cutter head having movable cutters which cooperate withspaced cutter lugs on the interior of the inner housing section toeiiect the comminuting operation, and to provide passage means forallowing discharge of the comminuted particles While preventing cloggingof the device with uncut, fibrous material.

Another object is to provide, in a waste disposal unit of the typehaving spaced groups of cutter lugs on the inner housing section,relatively narrow openings or passages through which the comminutedmaterial can be flushed, so that, as the material is comminuted, it isimediately discharged into the drain.

Another object is to provide, in a waste disposal device of thecharacter referred to, means disposed between the groups of cutter lugsfor directing the material, shredded or unshredded, through thedischarge passages referred to above. This object is best attained byproviding arcuate projections or flanges on the interior of the innerhousing section, the flanges being'of a'thickness equal to that of thecutter lugs so that the flanges and lugs together define an orifice inwhich the cutter head rotates. In accordance with this invention, thediameter of the orifice is only slightly larger than the diameter of thecutter head so that there exists an annular clearance space of extremelysmall width whereby the possibility of vegetable fibers and otherattenuated material or relatively hard material such as tin, Wire, etc.,becoming wedged between the housing and the cutter head to clog thedevice and thus impair its operation, is entirely avoided. It is afurhter object in this respect to so form the arcuate flanges that theytend to direct material, which is thrown radially outwardly, toward thegroups of cutter lugs.

Waste disposal devices heretofore employed are subject to anotherserious disadvantage in that they frequently become jammed. Thiscondition is due to several factors, one of which is that when therevolvable cutter elements are mounted rigidly on the rotary table andhard material is inadvertently placed in the comminuting chamher, thematerial may wedge between the stationary and movable cutters tosuddenly arrest the rotation of the table and thus stall the electricmotor which drives the same. As will be apparent, such a condition mayresult in permanent damage to the cutter components andthe drivingmotor. This objectionable condition is aggra vated when the keen cuttingedges of the cutter elements become worn to provide spaces therebctweenin which material of solid, heavy, stringy or fibrous nature is placedin the comminuting chamber and becomes jammed in these spaces. Inanother formof waste disposal unit, the rotary cutter elements aremovable relative to the rotary table in paths extending parallel to theaxis of rotation of the table and are thrown radially outwardly underthe influenc'e'of centrifugal force. Insuch'a unit,

when the table slows down due to wedging of waste material between themovable and stationary cutters, the driving motor becomes at leastpartially stalled and the movable cutter elements move to a fully openposition with the result that the comminuting operation is completelydiscontinued.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a wastedisposal device which avoids the deficiencies of prior devices discussedabove, this object being attained by providing a novel form of rotarytable and movable cutter assembly in which the rotary cutter elementsare pivoted on axes extending approximately parallel to the axis ofrotation of the table and which are weighted to cause them to be pivotedradially outwardly under the influence of centrifugal force. Accordingto one form of this improvement, spring means are provided for pivotingthe movable cutter elements toward an operative position, the springmeans preferably being of the torsion spring type and surrounding thepivots of the movable cutter elements with their ends engaging theelements and the table. The springs are coiled in such a direction andso connected between the rotary table and each movable cutter that theytend to move the cutters outwardly into cooperative relation to thestationary cutter lugs. It is impractical to construct the movablecutter elements of sufiicient weight that they attain a centrifugalforce which is substantially equal to the pull-out torque of the drivingmotor. Moreover, when the motor slows down, the centrifugal forcedecreases as the square of the R. P. M. that is, very rapidly. Inconventional waste disposal devices, when the movable cutters moveinwardly, due to decrease in the speed of. the motor as caused bywedging of material or any other condition, the entire mass of eachmovable cutter moves closer to the axis of rotation of the cutter table.Consequently, the radius on which the centrifugal force acts isdecreased so that an additional decrease in the centrifugal forceoccurs. With the present form, the springs are designed to over comethis condition by providing that when each movable cutter movesinwardly, the power of its spring increases to counterbalance the lossof centrifugal force due to the reduced speed and the shorter effectiveradius. By this provision, when the unit becomes overloaded, due to theentrance between the stationary and movable cutter elements of materialwhich might tend to wedge therebetween and the motor thus slows down topivot the movable cutter elements inwardly to release the material,resistance to such inward pivotal movement of the cutters is resisted sothat the comminuting operation is maintained continuous. This not onlyprevents damage to the relatively movable cutters and associated partsand to the driving motor, but effects a more efiicient grinding orcomminuting action, it being apparent that, upon re lease of thematerial or waste object, the movable cutter elements immediately returnto their outermost position under the power of their torsion springs andthe action of centrifugal force so as to again cooperate with thestationary cutters.

In disposal devices of the indicated type, it sometimes happens thataccumulations of comminuted waste material develop between the underside of the rotary table element or cutter head and the top of theunderlying motor shell containing the motor by which the table isdriven. Such a condition more frequently develops when no water issupplied during the grinding process through some neglect, in which casethe ground material is pushed toward the outlet spout without thepresence of water to flush it away, and as a consequence tends toaccumulate under the rotary table edge and thereby interfering with itsfreedom of rotation.

It is another object of this invention to provide a rotary head or tablestructure which tends to dislodge accumulations which might otherwiseoccur. In the particular form here disclosed, this result isaccomplished by notching the under side of the rotary table or headelement with relatively long, slightly tapering notches, or shortertooth-like notches, which will act to dislodge material otherwisetending to accumulate.

Other objects of the invention will become apparent to those skilled inthe art upon reference to the following specification and accompanyingdrawings wherein certain embodiments of the invention are illustrated.

In the drawings:

Fig. l is principally a vertical section of my improved waste disposaldevice in an operative position, certain portions being shown inelevation;

Fig. 2 is a bottom plan view of the rotary cutter head or table elementas indicated by the line 2--2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary view as indicated by the line 33 of Fig. 1,showing one arrangement of the discharge orifices and ledge arrangementat the lower edge of the frusto-conical grind ring with which themovable cutters cooperate;

Fig. 3A is an enlarged detail taken from the line 3A3A of Fig. 3;

Fig. 4 is a vertical sectional detail taken on the line 4-4 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 discloses a preloaded or spring loaded modification of themovable cutters;

Fig. 6 is a top plan view of the rotary cutter head as taken from theline 66 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 7 is a side elevation thereof as taken from the line 7-7 of Figs. 2and 6;

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary top plan view similar to that of Fig. 6, thecorresponding rotary cutter and a portion of the uppermost disc andunderlying cutter finger disc being removed;

Fig. 9 is a cross section through the cutter head and adjacentcooperative portions of the grind ring somewhat similar to the crosssection of Fig. l but taken in a different position as indicated by theline 9-9 of Fig. 6; and

Figs. 10 and 11 are fragmentary details showing possible modificationsof the self-cleaning, tapered notches on the under side of the rotarycutter head or table.

Having reference to Fig. 1 of the drawings, the disposal deviceillustrated includes an outer circular housing 10 of dome shape havingan upper tubular end 12 provided with a flange 14 or the like forsuspension from a kitchen sink by any suitable means. The tubular end 12provides a throat or opening 15 through which waste is received from thementioned sink.

Secured to the lower end of the housing section 10, in any appropriatemanner, is a lowerhousing member whose lower portion provides anelectric motor casing or shell having a top wall 21, the electric motorhaving a vertical shaft 22 which carries on its upper end a rotary tableelement or cutter head, indicated generally at 24, which in turn carriesmovable flipper-like cutters 25 Thus, the head 24 is located in theupper portion of the housing member 20 above the top wall 21. Adischarge neck 28 leads from the side of the member 20 to dispose ofdisintegrated material passed by the cutting means.

The lower housing section 20 supports an inner housing section 30 whichencloses a comminuting chamber 32 and comprises an upper circularhousing member 33 and a lower housing member 34 which constitutes agrind ring and Will be referred to as the grind ring 34. The grind ring34 is provided on its inner surface with a plurality of stationary,inwardly projecting cutter lugs 35 which preferably are irregularlydisposed and constructed to cooperate with the movable flipper-likecutters 25 as more fully described below. The lower end of the grindring 34 is seated and sealed in an annular groove in the upper end ofthe lower housing member 20 as by means of a sealing ring as generallyindicated at 36, and the upper end of the inner and upper housing member33 is seated and sealed against an upper portion of the upper housingmember 10 by an appropriate sealing ring as indicated at 37. Theloweredge of the upper member 33 is seated on the grind ring 34 by anyappropriate flanged and grooved means such as seen at 38. These partsare primarily metallic and the grind ring 34 in particular is of suchconstruction and hardness as to provide cutter lugs 35 of adequate life,which are shown as integrally formed with the grind ring 34.

The projecting cutter lugs 35 may be arranged in appropriate patternswhich preferably are largely irregular, being distributed continuouslyaround the ring 34 as seen in Fig. l. The lugs 35 may also beirregularly shaped as indicated, and they are machined to provideadequately sharp edges for cooperating with the movable flipper-likecutters and for restraining waste material during grinding operations.In general, the cutter lugs provide vertical channels between them, at'least adjacent the lower end of the grind ring 34. The waste material,which is projected outwardly by the centrifugal action of the cutterhead 24 and its movable cutters 25, works downward through the mentionedchannels to the lower edge of the grind ring 34. In order to provide forproper discharge of the waste being treated and to prevent discharge ofsuch material before being properly ground, I have found it desirablethat the lower, inner edge of the grind ring 34 be provided with aplurality of small, narrow, outwardly and downwardly extending dischargeorifices 4t) (Figs. 3 and 4). Between the lower, inner edge portions ofthe orifices 40, inwardly directed flange-like members or ledges aredisposed so as to provide an annular lower ring or flange structure 42on the inner wall of the grind ring 34 which is interrupted only by thedischarge orifices 49 which thus provide between them a series ofdepending cutting or shearing elements 43, 43a spaced by the orifices,the resultant interrupted flange structure 42 providing a correspondingupwardly directed annular shelf structure 44 (Fig. 4) that serves todirect ground material acted upon by the movable cutters 25 into thedischarge orifices 4G and to prevent material which is not suflicientlyground from passing between the rotating cutter head 24 and the annularflange structure 42. The extent of inward projection into the chamber 32of the lugs 35 and the members of the flange structure 42 is uniform andsubstantially equal for all of these parts. The orifices may be arrangedin groups such as seen in Figs. 3 and 3A, which groups may be spacedaround the ring 34, or they may be disposed substantially continuouslyaround the ring 34. On the under edge of the ring 34, alternatedepending elements are relieved at the orifices 40, as indicated at 45(and where shaded in Fig. 3) by terminating slightly above theintervening elements 43 which provide shearing edges for cooperationwith underlying rotating cutter fingers on the head 24, as describedbelow.

The rotary cutter head 24 comprises a relatively heavy cast metal rotarytable 50, the under side of which is flanged at a to provide appropriatespacing above the top wall 21 of the motor shell. The table 50 isscrewed onto the upper end of the motor shaft 22, and carries upon itsupper face a pressed metal disc or plate 52 (Figs. 1, 5, 7, and 9)which, in operative position, fits within the annular flange structure42 on the lower end of the grind ring 34 and cooperates with such flangestructure 42 to retain Waste material. Also carried on the upper face ofthe rotary table 50 is a second plate or disc 54 which underlies thedisc 52 and is provided with opposed cutter fingers 55 (above mentioned)which fingers underlie the lower edge of the grind ring 34 and itsdischarge orifices 4t and cooperate with the longer shearing elements 43and with the relieved portions 45 of the shorter elements 43a at suchlower edge of the grind ring 34 to shear off fibrous materials includingstrings and the like. Where the waste being treated does not requiresuch severe cutting action, the plate 54 and its cutting fingers 55could be omitted. The shearing or cutting fingers 55 on the disc 54 areshown as being integral extensions of the disc 54, and as being somewhatoffset from the plane of the disc. 54 and machined at their leadingedges to. provide appropriate knife edges 55a (especially Fig. 6) tocooperate with the lower edge of the grind ring 34 as, best indicated inFig. 9. The two discs 52 and 54 are secured to the rotary table 50. asby means of screws 56 (Fig. 6) received in upstanding bosses 57 (Fig.7), and the disc 54 carrying the cutting fingers 55 preferably isadditionally secured to the rotary table 50 by means of other screws 58received in additional upstanding bosses 59 (Figs. 6, 7, and 8) on therotary table 50. In addition to screwing the rotary table 50 onto thetop of the motor shaft 22, any appropriate anchor screw and bindingwasher such as indicated at 60 may be used. Also, appropriate packingmeans 62 may be employed adjacent the motor shaft 22 in connection withthe mounting of the rotary table 50 to guard against entry of liquid orother foreign matter, and, as seen in Fig. l, a liquid drainage duct 63in the top wall 21 of the motor shell may desirably be provided. For thepurpose of'reducing weight and also to facilitate flushing of spaces atthe top of the rotary table 50 between the various bosses, the two discs52 and 54 may be apertured as best indicated in Figs. 6, 8, and 9 wherethe disc 52 is shown as being provided with a plurality of small drillholes 64 and the disc 54 is provided with large arcuate openings 65.These openings are in addition to the central opening in the disc 52which receives the anchor screw means 60 and is preferably flush withthe top thereof, and the larger central opening in the disc 54 whichaccommodates an upstanding, central hub of the rotary table 50 and seatson spaced lugs as therearound. If desired, additional upstanding lugsmay be provided on the rotary table 50 adjacent the periphery thereoffor the bearing of the corresponding annular portions of the disc 54thereon as best indicated at 68 in Fig. 7. It is to be appreciated thatwhere the term disc is applied to the circular discs or plates 52 and 54that term is used in a sense to include the saucer-like shape which bothof these discs possess.

From the standpoint of the mounting of the flipperlike, movable cutters25 previously mentioned, each of these embodies an integral pivot pin orstud 70, best indicated in Figs. 1 and 5, which is journalled on aslightly inclined axis in the rotary table 50 at a point spaced outwardfrom the axis of the motor shaft 22 and the table 50 to dispose theouter head portion or end portion of the respective cutter 25 inoperative position adjacent the stationary cutter lugs 35 on the innerwall of the grind ring 34, and to permit its swinging inward toward theaxis of the rotary table 50 until stopped by an upstanding centralboss-like member of the upper disc 52 as indicated at 52a in Figs. 6 and9. The saucer-like arrangement of the discs 52 and 54 permits suchswinging movement of the movable cutters 25 on their inclined axes. Inoperation, movement of the cutters 25 outward to the operative positionindicated in Fig. 6 is effected by centrifugal force during the rotationof the whole cutter head including the rotary table 56, the direction ofrotation being indicated by the arrows in Figs. 2, 6 and 7. The movementof the cutters 25 about their axes to operative position is limited bystops 72 (Fig. 6) which are struck up from the upper disc 52. It will benoted that the axis of said stop '72 is substantially radially in linewith the axis of the stud 70 of each movable cutter 25 so that thecenter of mass of the enlarged head of each cutter 25 trails behind suchradius during high speed operation'and insures adequate driving power inthe cutters 25 to force waste material against the fixed cutting lugs onthe grind ring 34. This arrangement will be apparent from the showing ofFigs. 6, 7, and 9 which illustrate each cutter as including anupstanding head which tapers downward somewhat as it extends rearward,that is against the direction of rotation, and whose leading end 74against the stop 72 angles ctr' rearward so as to crowd waste materialbetween such leading end 74 and the inner wall of the grind ring 34 andthereby force the waste material against the cutting lugs 35 fordisintegration thereof.

In mounting the pivoting stud 79 of each movable cutter 25 on itsinclined axis, it is journalled in the rotary table 50 either by meansof a bearing sleeve 77 which may be press-fitted into place, as shown inFig. l, or it may be journalled in an integral sleeve such as indicatedat 77a in Fig. 5. In either event the upper end of such journallingsleeve extends through corresponding openings in the discs 52 and 54,and the lower end of the respective stud is headed over upon a washer 78as indicated at 79 (Fig. This mounting of each stud 70 is located in anenlarged upstanding boss 80 (Fig. 7) of rectangular shape which isintegral with the rotary table 50.

If, while the table 50 is rotating and the whole cutter head 24 is inoperation, waste material which is thrown centrifugally outward againstthe stationary cutting lugs 35 tends to wedge against the inner wall ofthe grind ring 34 and clog the device so that it slows down, the movablecutters 25 yield and are moved back toward the axis of the cutter head.When the wedging action has been overcome, the movable cutters 25 may bemore quickly returned to their outward operative position if they arepreloaded as by spring means. To accomplish this purpose, each movablecutter 25 may be preloaded, as with a torsion spring 85 shown in Fig. 5.This spring 85 is disposed in a well 86 about the bearing sleeve 77 or77a, the lower end of the spring being seated in a bore 87 in the table50 and the upper end of the spring being fixed in the respective movablecutter 25 at a position eccentric to its axis. In the form illustrated,the openings in the discs 52 and 54 around the upper end of the sleeve77a are made large enough to accommodate movement of the upper end ofthe spring 85. The arrangement of the spring 85 is such that, as it ismoved backward away from operative position toward the axis of thecutter head 24, the power of the spring is increased to counterbalancethe loss of centrifugal force due to the reduced speed at the head ofeach movable cutter 25 by reason of its shorter effective radius whenretracted. Such spring tension compensates for loss in the centrifugalforces. In the form shown in Fig. 5, the inner end of the movable cutter25 is made large enough to overlie and close the well 86 housing thespring 85. Similarly, in the form of Fig. 1 the inner end of eachmovable cutter 25 is large enough to overlie the bearing sleeve 77.

Inasmuch as it has been found that there is a strong tendency forcomminuted waste material which is passed through the discharge orifices40 to accumulate and pack under the rotary table 50 between theperipheral flange portion 50a thereof and the top wall 21 of the motorshell, especially when the disposal device has been operated withoutwater or with insuificient water, means have been provided to guardagainst accumulation and thereby keep the table free from interferencewith rotation which such accumulation produces. According to one form ofconstruction for this purpose, two opposed, elongated, tapered slots ornotches 99 have been formed in the under side of the peripheral annularflange Siia of the rotating table 50, and such elongated notchesextended in each instance for about 60, with a depth at the deep end 91in the order of an eighth of an inch to two tenths of an inch where thediameter of the rotating plate 50 approximates six inches. Such aconstructionis shown in Figs. 7 and 9. Here the vertical shoulder of thedeep end 91 constitutes a projection of the corresponding side of a wideland 92 on the under side of the rotary plate 50, the parallel sides ofthe wide land 92 being, as a consequence, angularly disposed withrespect to corresponding radii. As a result, since the vertical shoulderof each notch 90 is at the trailing end of the notch, the respectiveside wall of the adjacent land 92, which has been indicated at 93 inFig; '2, serves, by reason of its angular disposition, to aid ejectionof materialnwhich would otherwise tend to accumulate.

However, other notch arrangements than that shown in Figs. 2, 7 and 9may be employed with beneficial results. For example, .as indicateddiagrammatically in Fig. 10, the notches may be shorter, as well as morenumerous, and might extend continuously around the periphery of theflange 50a. Again, they might be so numerous as to constitute a sawtoothefiect indicated on a large scale at 94 in Fig. 11.

"v r'itl'l respect to sizes of some of the parts, it has been indicatedabove that, in a typical construction, the inclined, self-cleaningslotsor notches 90 of the form of structure shown in Figs. 2, 7, and 9 mayhave a depth of around one eighth inch to two tenths of an inch at thedeepest end, and the length may be in the order of 60 more or less fortwo opposed notches, such dimensions having been found very serviceablefor adequate selfcleaning of the rotary table during operation. As tothe orifices 40, these may vary in widthfor practical householdoperations between about one tenth of an inch and one sixth of an inchfor the purpose of passing adequately comminuted waste particles, thedepths of these orifices and the height thereof above the disc 52 of therotary head 24 being adequate to receive appropriately ground waste,such as generally indicated in Fig. 4. The relief provided on the loweredge of the grind ring 34, as indicated in Figs. 3 and 3A may have avertical depth of which two hundredths of an inch is typical, althoughsuch other depths may be employedas is most desirable for any given typeof work. The height o-f the members of the annular flange structure 42is commonly somewhat greater than the thickness of thevdisc 52 of therotary cutting head 24, where such disc 52 just enters the mouth of thelower end of the grind ring 34, whereby the upper edges of such elementslie somewhat above the adjacent upper surface of the disc 52,approximately as indicated in Fig. 4. V I

Operations In the use of the described construction, when the rotarycutter head 24 is in operation for the purpose of grinding wastematerial which has been introduced into the top of the chamber 32through the throat 15, centrifugal force throws the movable cutters 25outward into the position illustrated in Figs. 1 and 6, and such actionalso throws waste material on the rotary cutter head outward intocontact with the inner wall of the grind ring 34 and the fixed cutterlugs 35. As a consequence, the waste material is disintegrated to sizeswhich will pass through the exposed upper portions of the orifices 40;Under normal operations water is run into the apparatus during thegrinding operation so that the ground material is flushed outward overthe top wall 21 of the motor shell and into the discharge neck 28leading from the side of the housing 20. If, during this operation, nowater at all, or insufficient water, has been delivered into theapparatus, and if under these circumstances relatively dry materialotherwise tends to pack under the annular flange 50a of the rotary table50, the inclined notches or grooves indicated at 90 and 94 serveadequately to keep free the space between the lower side of such annularflange 50a and the adjacent upper portion of the top wall 21 of themotor shell, whereby there will be no interference with freedom ofrotation of rotary cutter head 24.

For the purpose of insuring adequate disintegration of fibrous materialssuch as stringy vegetables and cotton strings or the like, the cutterfingers 55 which project horizontally from the cutter-finger-carryingplate 54 cooperate with the lower edge of the grind ring 34 at the lowerdischarge ends of the orifices 20 to break up such waste materials intoadequately small portions. By reason of the cutting edges 55a of thecutter fingers 55 and the relief portions 45 on the under side of thecutter ring 34 at the orifices 40, a satisfactory shearing effect may beaccomplished.

Where bones, or other obdurate materials, are encountered which tend toclog against the projecting fixed cutter lugs 35 so as to retard thespeed of rotation of the cutter head 24, the movable cutters 25 willrecede against the resultant pressure and their head portions will movebackward toward the axis of the rotating head. In order to overcome anyobjectionable delay in the return of the swinging heads of the movablecutters 25 to their outermost, operative position, such cutters 25 maybe preloaded as by means of the spring 85 shown in Fig. which is set sothat, as the. respective movable cutter 25 retracts, tension in thespring 85 is built up. Consequently, when the force which causedretraction of the respective movable cutter 25 has dissipated, thecutter will be promptly returned to operative position under theinfluence of both centrifugal force and the spring 85. With this form ofthe improvement, the masses of the components and the strength of thetorsion spring 85 are so calculated that the movable cutter 25 in eachinstance opens when the resistance to rotation reaches approximately 90%of the pull-out torque of the motor. Thus, until the motor attains itsnormal operating speed, there is provided an influence aidingcentrifugal force.

I claim as my invention:

1. A waste disposal device, including: a vertical housing memberdefining a comminuting chamber having a vertical axis for receivingwaste material, said member having a plurality of stationary cutter lugson its inner surface; a horizontal cutter head rotatable within saidcomminuting chamber on a vertical axis and having at least onecentrifugally-actuable horizontally movable cutter pivotally movableabout an axis on said cutter head toward and away from said stationarycutter lugs and adapted, when moved outwardly under the influence ofcentrifugal force, to cooperate with said cutter lugs in comminutingwaste material disposed therebetween; and force applying meansoperatively connected to said movable cutter and effective upon inwarddisplacement and in the event of a decrease in centrifugal force whenthe speed of said cutter head decreases to exert a force capable ofmoving said movable cutter outwardly.

2. A waste disposal device, including: a housing member defining acomminuting chamber having a vertical axis for receiving waste material,said member having a plurality of stationary cutter lugs on its innersurface; a horizontal cutter head rotatable within said comminutingchamber on a vertical axis and having at least onecentrifugally-actuable movable cutter pivoted on said cutter head on anupright axis and adapted to be pivoted under the influence ofcentrifugal force in a generally radial horizontal direction toward saidstationary cutter lugs so as to cooperate therewith in comminutingmaterial disposed between said lugs and said movable cutter; and torqueapplying means operatively connected to said movable cutter and normallyineffective during normal, full-speed rotation of said cutter head, buteffective in the event of outward movement of said cutter and reductionof the centrifugal force effected when the speed of said cutter headdecreases, to exert a force to pivot said movable cutter radiallyoutwardly.

3. A device as defined in claim 2 in which said torqueapplying means isspring means and said spring means is disposed beneath said movablecutter and has an end engageable with said cutter and another endengageable with said cutter head, said cutter having an axis parallel tothe axis of said head.

4. A device as defined in claim 2 in which said torqueapplying means isspring means and said movable cutter is mounted on a pivot pin carriedby said cutter, said spring means being a torsion spring disposed in anannular recess of said cutter head surrounding said pin, said springhaving one end connected to said cutter head and another end connectedto said movable cutter.

5. A waste disposal device, including: a housing member defining acomminuting, chamber having a vertical axis for receiving wastematerial, said member having a plurality of stationary cutter lugs onits inner surface; a cutter head rotatable on said vertical axis withinsaid comminuting chamber and having at least one centrifugallyactuablemovable cutter pivoted on a generally vertical axis on. said cutter headand adapted to be pivoted under the influence of centrifugal force in agenerally radial direction toward said stationary cutter lugs so as tocooperate therewith in comminuting material disposed between said lugsand said movable cutter; an electric motor for rotating said cutterhead; and spring means operatively connected to said movable cutter andadapted to pivot the same outwardly, said spring means being untcnsionedwhen the cutter is in normal position and during the normal full-speedoperation of said motor, but being adapted to be tensioncd in responseto inward pivotal movement of said movable cutter, upon reduction of thecentrifugal force effected when the torque of said motor decreases dueto a load imposed thereupon, so as to pivot said movable cutter radiallyoutwardly, the combined effective spring and centrifugal forces beingsuch that said movable cutter will move inwardly when said load reachesapproximately of the pull-out torque of said motor.

6. A waste disposal device, including: a vertical housing member havinga vertical axis defining a comminuting chamber for receiving wastematerial, said member having a plurality of stationary cutter lugs onits inner surface; a cutter head rotatable on said vertical axis withinsaid comrninuting chamber; an electric motor for rotating said cutterhead; a pivot pin carried on'a generally vertical axis by said cutterhead and projecting upwardly therefrom; a movable cutter pivoted on saidpin and adapted to be pivoted under the influence of centrifugal forcein a generally outward radial direction toward said cutter lugs so as tocooperate therewith in comminuting material disposed between said lugsand said movable cutter; and spring means operatively connected betweensaid cutter head and said movable cutter and adapted to apply torque tosaid cutter so as to pivot the same radially outwardly, said springmeans being untensioned when the cutter is in outward position, butbeing adapted to be tensioned in response to inward pivotal movement ofsaid movable cutter, to return said cutter radially outward in the eventof reduction of the centrifugal force effected when the torque of saidmotor decreases due to a load imposed thereupon, the combined effectivespring and centrifugal forces being such that said movable cutter willmove inwardly when said load reaches approximately 90% of the pull-outtorque of said motor.

7. In combination in a waste disposal device: a housing member defininga grinding chamber for receiving waste material, said housing memberhaving a plurality of stationary cutter lugs on its inner surface andprojecting into said chamber for engagement by waste material therein,said housing member having an open lower end; a cutter head rotatablymounted on a vertical axis in said open lower end and substantiallyclosing said lower end; cutters mounted on said cutter head incooperative relation with said cutter lugs for grinding waste materialtherebetween, the lower end of said housing member having a plurality ofsmall, downwardly-directed outiet passages therein whose upper endscommunicate with said chamber at and immediately above said cutter headto receive ground waste and discharge the same, said pas-- sagesproviding between them depending shearing elements; and laterallyextending shearing fingers carried by said rotatable cutter head andunderlying the lower end of said housing member in shearing relationwith. said depending shearing elements, the under ends of certain ofsaid shearing elements terminating slightly above the under ends ofintervening shearing elements in relieved relation for facilitatingshearing of fibrous materials extending from said passages.

8. A device as in claim 7 wherein said cutters are movable and arepivoted on generally vertical axes to swing outward to cooperate withsaid cutter lugs.

9. A device as in claim 7 wherein the under ends of said shearingelements are substantially flat and lie substantially in planesperpendicular to the axis of said cutter head.

10. A waste disposal device, comprising: a housing member defining acomminuting chamber for receiving waste material, said member having aplurality of stationary cutter lugs on its inner surface; a cutter headrotatable on a vertical axis within said cornminuting chamoer; anelectric motor for rotating said cutter head; a pivot pin carried on avertical axis by said cutter head and projecting upwardly therefrom; amovable cutter pivoted on said pin and adapted to be pivoted under theinfluence of centrifugal force in a generally outward radial directiontoward said cutter lugs so as to cooperate therewith in cornminutingmaterial disposed between said lugs and said movable cutter; and springmeans operatively connected between said cutter head and said movablecutter and adapted to apply torque to said cutter so as to pivot thesame radially outwardly, said spring means being untensioned during thenormal full-speed operation of said motor, but being adapted to betensioned in response to inward pivotal movement of said movable cutter,under load applied to the cutter causing reduction of the centrifugalforce effected when the torque of said motor 12 decreases due to suchload, so as to return said movable cutter radially outwardly.

11. A device as defined in claim 10 in which said spring means isdisposed beneath said movable cutter and has an end engageable with saidcutter and another end engageable with said cutter head. v

12. A device as defined in claim 10in which said spring means is atorsion spring disposed in an annular recess of said cutter headsurrounding said pin, said spring having one end connected to saidcutter head and another end connected to said movable cutter.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,320,968 Baudendistel Nov. 4, 1919 1,439,754 Plaisted Dec. 26, 19221,723,615 Hamlin Aug. 6, 1929 2,091,080 Mursch Aug. 24, 1937 2,220,729Powers Nov. 5, 1940 2,322,058 Powers June 15, 1943 2,442,812 Jordan June8, 1948 2,476,630 Schindler July 19, 1949 2,482,125 Powers Sept. 20,1949 2,534,944 Bissey Dec. 19, 1950 2,562,736 Powers July 31, 19512,566,069 Powers Aug. 28, 1951 2,629,558

Miller Feb. 24, 1953

